Golf ball collector



Oct. 11, 1949. F. w. WELLS- GOLF BALL COLLECTOR Filed Feb. 16, 1946Patented Oct. 11, 1949 GOLF BALL COLLECTOR F." lWarren" Wells,Springfield, Mass., assignor to Blair Manufacturing Company,*Springfield, n'Massaa corporation of Massachusetts iApplication'February 16, 1946; Serial No; 648,100-

' 7 Claims. 1 "'This' inventionrelates to improvements in golf"hall"collectors'and is primarily "direct'ed to re- ;"ttrieving"means'for" recovering the. golf balls ":wh1ch become scattered" over a wide"area of a practice"drivingrange.

An object of thisinvention is-theprovision of f me'chanicalmeans-whichywhen drawn, pulled, or pus-hed over"tl'ie groundg willpickop golf balls "or th fiike-"which maybe lying on the: :ground ariddepo'sit thenr in a *receptacle provided for 'rec'eiving t'hem.

Arfurtherobject of this-Tinve'ntion is the pro- 1 *vi'sionf-inmeehanical means for collecting golf r- 'la'iills irom' the ground,"'ofa removableand replaceaiblereceptacle ormasket, whereby, when'-"one"receptacle becomes full, it maybe removed and-"'an empty onesubstituted; without removtlng the collecting device from its r fieldof' operatlon.

stilli another object: of 'this' invention is the provision}: ina'i'golfr ball collectingvdevice, of a s: consimu'cti'omwhich'rprovides' for separating. the -g6lf::balls 'cfromgrass clippings;twigsgwand "the llilikefi andtzalsdfifor cleaning A theu'ballsi whilethey esremairrtim the receivingreceptacle Another 70bje'ct of thisinvention" is. :the prowi'siomcofe a;j'golf::ba1l collector: which. is*simple,

sturdy, and economical of construction and one -iwhicheadapts itselfreadily-and' efl1ciently1 to opemtion'weither as: a'sing'le unit, or iina 'gang :of 'v lumta-sjimil arito a gang lawnmower. i 2 These, and otherobjects and advantagescf "e -this invention-will be clearly "describedand'diswclosed dnz'this specification, "the accompanying hidrawings;andsthe appended claims.

Broadlyythis invention comprises a frame, t a

shaft journalled in the fram e,-1: traction wheels a secured on :theshaft' and drivin the same, a tpluralityi-iofspring fingers secured ito'the ishaft wand providing; when the shaft is revolved; areiVOlViIlgxYlllldBlFfOl. forcing golf ballssin the path i-nofiuthecylinder 'TtO the: rearnof thecylind'enta wnamp isecured on the framewithits front edge It in juxtapositiontto' the ground andoto the underlsideuofr. the revolving cylinder, a removable [basket or ireceptaclesupported in the 1 frame to the il-rearsofthe ramppthezrear edge of'-theramp over- .:liang-ing-- the front-edge of the basket; vwhereby, wwhengolfaballs: are --forced rearwardlywhy the .tsspringwfingers: onwtherevolving shaft; they Will roll up the ramp and intothe-basket,Ithe rampeandebasket-being' constructed of perforate material rwhiclr willpermitobjectsrandz'debris smaller than? a; go1f-.-iba1l to pass throughthemtto the aground.

A pref-erredeinbodiment "of this invention --is illustrated 'in theaccompanying drawings, in "which "Fig; 1 is a plan view-bf my golf ball'collector,

"Fig 2-is'"- a cross -sectional view' taken on the FigF 34s a partial;sectional view illustrating the-means for securing 'the spring fingersto the i revolving"shaft and "*Fig-E 4 is aperspective view bf one ofthespring I gets.

Referringnow to "the "drawings in detail, in

vhi'ohdikenumerals"refer to like parts throughout,

5 A-"euhstantially"u shapedframe I Jh'aVing 'Sides 2; a rear Wam- 3;and-forwardly extendin ears 4? has a sh a-ft- 5 -rotatably=journalledirithe for- "*ward efids l? of the' s'ide walls 2.' The ears 4-areprovided with holes 1 for receiving cables or rither suitalole'connections *(n ot' shown) 'toithe ixdrawebar of a tra'otorior the like.'I-ractionwheels are' operatively connected 01 secured 1 on the ll'ed r'push'ed across- 'the' ground, the traction 8 "*revolve lthe sh'aftifi,in ithe direction r acastemil; v=sup'ptirted: on lthe lleal' wall? 310ithe s; shame? in provides a :r'ear 'support ior ithe frame I, so thatthe frame I has: aiithree' point support A plurality oft U'-"Sha1JBd;"spring" fingers-l 9; 'removablywsecured in the shaft: 5', :revolve withthe fl-shaftr Eu a-rid are of such length as nto approach,catfltheirtlowest "position; within azishort distance f' thegroundrsoathat a'go'lf'ball located in the 3':''path?-:"of:rtherevolving fingers [twill-he forced =21 on kicked rearwardlyi. when"contacted -loy 0nef' -or wm'oreofi the? fingers 'HJ.

P A'Tamp ll zcomposed of applate 12; spacing bar .4521! is positionedwith the front 'edge'of the" plate 112 guxtapositiori" to the ground inadjacent theipert-meter of a "cylinder" form'ed by 'the revolution of thfiiig'ers lD,"andtheramp is'slant- 'edfiupwardly and -rearwardly fromthe front edge iiziplate El 2,1- :rodsw or bars ligand: spaoing'mm 3 1mayl be 'isecured itogether in any suitablemam sxnensuchaszspottwelding.

F w-a'basket o ceptacle ilfiphavingt a semi=0irsupported on the sides 2of the frame I by means of clips I9, secured in spaced relationship onthe side walls I8. Handle grips 29 are secured on the side Walls I8 ofthe basket Iii, thus providing means for lifting the basket out of itssupporting frame. The bottom I I of the basket I6 is preferably made ofperforate material, as best indicatedin Fig. 1, with the perforations 2|of somewhat smaller size than the diameter of a golf ball. A wire meshhas also been used for the bottom II of the basket I 6, withsatisfactory results. The rear ends of the rods I9 extend over theforward edge of the basket I6, as shown in Figs. 1 and -2.

Wing members 22, secured on the sides 2 of the frame I, close the gapbetween the wheels 8 and the basket I6, thus preventing balls forcedrearwardly up the ramp II from escaping at the sides of the collectingdevice.

The spring fingers II] are formed with their base portions 23 bent awayfrom the direction of revolution, as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 4,thus providing a brushing effect on golf balls located in their path. Ithas also been found that this construction provides a maximum ofefficiency, as on v the rare occasions when the portion 23 strikes theexact top of a golf ball, the ball is either snapped rearwardly up theramp and into the basket, or snapped forwardly. In the latter case, theball will be picked up again as the machine approaches its new position.As shown in Fig. 3, the spacing of the U-shaped fingers I is less thanthe diameter of a golf ball 24, shown by dotted lines, so that there isno possibility of a ball being missed bythe fingers Ill. If a ballshould be located be- :r

tween the fingers II] and the ramp II when the machine is at rest, itwill be scooped up by the plate [2 as soon as the machine is movedforwardly.

Fig. 3 illustrates one method of removably securing the fingers II inthe shaft 5. The shaft 5 is provided with spaced transverse bores orholes 25, of sufficient diameter to receive two of the legs 26 'of thefingers H, and set screws 21 clamp the legs 26 in place. Thus, any oneof the fingers I I which may become broken or badly bent out of shape,by striking a rock or from any other cause, may be easily replacedwithout disturbing any of the other fingers.

In operation, this golf ball collector is preferably pulled ahead ofwhatever power plant may be used for motivation, such as a tractor ortruck, by being attached to a draw bar extending forwardly of theoperating machine. The collector may be used singly, or in multiple,like a gang lawnmower, by having the separate units attached to theusual draw bar construction for gang lawn mowers, and the whole attachedto the forwardly extending draw bar. It is preferable to have thecollecting units move ahead of the truck or tractor, so that the wheelsof the latter will not ride over and force any of the golf balls intothe ground before they are picked up. Satisfactory results have alsobeen obtained with a single unit located in advance of each of the frontwheels of the truck or tractor, and a gang of units drawn behind thetruck or the like and spanning the distance between the two forwardunits.

The spaced rods l 4 of the ramp I l permit twigs, dirt, stones, grassclippings, and the like to fall through to the ground, and theperforated bottom of the basket I6 is useful in cleaning the collectedgolf balls by turning a hose on them while they are still contained inthe basket. This may be done While the basket is still in place in thecol- 4 lecting device, or after the basket has been removed to some moreconvenient location.

What I claim is:

l. A golf ball collector comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in saidframe, traction wheels secured on opposite ends of said shaft, aplurality of U-shaped spring fingers secured in said shaft in spacedrelationship, on opposite sides of said shaft, the fingers on one sideof said shaft being staggered relative to the fingers on the oppositeside of said shaft, the spacing of said fingers being less than thediameter of a golf ball, and a basket removably supported in said framefor receiving golf balls moved toward said basket by said springfingers.

2. In a golf ball collector, a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame,traction wheels secured on said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped springfingers having the free ends of their leg portions removably secured insaid shaft, said fingers being arranged in spaced, parallel relationshipin diametrically opposite rows, the spacing of said fingers being lessthan the diameter of a golf ball, and a receptacle removably supportedin said frame for receiving golf balls forced toward said receptacle bysaid spring fingers.

3. In a golf ball collector, a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame,traction wheels secured on said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped springfingers having their free ends removably secured in said shaft, saidfingers being arranged in spaced, parallel relationship in diametricallyopposite rows and having their outer end portions bent away from thedirection of rotation of said shaft, the spacing of said fingers beingless than the diameter of a golf ball, and the spacing between the legsof said fingers being also less than the diameter of a golf ball, and areceptacle supported on said frame for receiving golf balls forcedtoward said receptacle by said spring fingers.

4. In a golf ball collecting device, a reel comprising a shaft, meansfor revolving said shaft, a plurality of spring fingers removablysecured in said shaft in spaced parallel relationship and indiametrically opposite rows, the fingers in one row being staggeredrelative to the fingers in the opposite row, the spacing of said fingersbeing less than the diameter of a golf ball.

5. In a golf ball collecting device, a reel comprising a shaft, meansfor revolving said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers havingtheir free ends removably secured in said shaft, the spacing of the armsof said fingers and the spacing between said fingers being less than thediameter of a golf ball, and the outer ends of said fingers being bentaway from the direction of rotation of said shaft.

6. A golf ball collector comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in saidframe, traction wheels secured on opposite ends of said shaft, aplurality of U-shaped spring fingers secured in said shaft in spaced,parallel relationship, the spacing of said fingers being slightly lessthan the diameter of a golf ball, a ramp secured in said frame andslanting upwardly and rearwardly from a leading edge located close tothe bottom of and in juxtaposition to a cylinder of rotation defined bysaid spring fingers, and a golf ball receptacle removably supported insaid frame rearwardly of said ramp, with the front edge of saidreceptacle located below the rear edge of said ramp.

'7. A golf ball collector as defined in claim 6, said ramp being in theform of a grid, with the spaces between the solid elements of said gridslightly less than the diameter of a golf -ball,-and

5 said receptacle having a perforate bottom, the Number perforations insaid bottom being less in diameter 895,332 than the diameter of a golfball. 1,204,220 F. WARREN WELLS. 1,425,544 5 2,287,133 REFERENCES CITEDThe following references are of record in the Number file of thispatent. 179,102

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 849,646 Weaver Apr. 9, 1907Name Date Von Bertauch Aug. 4, 1908 Whiting Nov. 7, 1916 Reiter Aug. 15,1922 Reiter June 23, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Nov. 27,1906

